UCD School of Chemical & Bioprocess Engineering

Welcome Message from Professor Don MacElroy

Welcome to UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.

As the title of the School indicates, two distinct, though strongly related, areas form the focus for the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered in the School. Both Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering focus on the design, construction and supervision of industrial plants which generate products or services in sufficient quantities to meet society’s needs, under safe and environmentally friendly conditions and at a reasonable cost.

Today’s Chemical Engineer is intimately involved in the transformation of natural materials and processes through the development and management of technologies for a broad range of products and services such as synthetic pharmaceuticals, fuels (including renewable energy resources), polymeric and inorganic materials, fine chemicals (for example, microchip manufacture), processed foods and beverages. The complementary field of Bioprocess Engineering represents a synthesis of the disciplines of biotechnology (utilising biological organisms to generate products, notably proteins and biopharmaceuticals) and chemical engineering (design for large scale industrial processes). Product design and sustainability are also key elements in both disciplines.

UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering is the oldest and largest degree granting School of its type in Ireland, offering professional degrees at BE (Honours) level and, in its research intensive programmes and advanced courses, up to the level of PhD. The undergraduate degree programme is accredited by the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and by the UK based Institution of Chemical Engineers. Since its beginning, over 1,000 engineers have been trained and the School has thus played a crucial role in the development of the Irish economy, where the chemical, biochemical and allied industries are strongly represented. The teaching received by the undergraduates is very much supported by the breadth of research currently underway in the School, and, in addition, the size of the School means that staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students can communicate freely on a day-to-day basis, fostering a culture of insight, encouragement, and openness.

Graduating students in Chemical Engineering enter one of the strongest and most robust technological sectors in Ireland today and those graduating in Bioprocess Engineering are at the leading edge of the biotechnology revolution that has already started to impact upon the Irish economy and is projected to do so for many years to come. Both streams of graduates also have the opportunity to enter research either within the Masters and/or PhD programmes offered by the School or in top international Universities.

Professor Don MacElroy

Head of School